Pandemic-Related Product Demand Boosts, Challenges Himax

With COVID-19's “harsh” worldwide impact, Himax had a 28% Q3 revenue increase sequentially, said Chief Investor Relations and PR Officer Eric Li on a Thursday call. “The unceasing stay-at-home economy created new demand but pushed foundry capacity constraints to a more severe level.” Revenue growth in display drivers for TVs, tablets, smartphones and the automotive sector contributed to the “better-than-guided sales,” he said. Smartphone display drivers were “the best performing product category,” rising 154% sequentially and 101% year over year, said Li. The “significant” quarterly sequential growth was a continuation from Q2, “when the product category already grew 69.0% from the previous quarter,” he said. The industrywide wafer foundry shortage stunted additional growth, he said: “We were, and still are, unable to meet all the demand for these products.” Revenue from tablet display driver ICs soared 336% from Q3 2019, setting a record for the third straight quarter, said Li. “We expect our tablet segment sales to continue to grow as overall market demand for tablets remains robust for more home working and online education needs.” Himax secured with foundry partners “a capacity which is already larger than our total shipment for this year,” said CEO Jordan Wu. “We are developing additional capacities for various product areas with an aim to further our available foundry pool for the next few years."